Assassinations Of African Leaders While In Office: Dangerous Egypt And Burundi

-UPDATED: Muammar Gaddafi, the long-term ruler of Libya, was killed in 2011 by NATO-supported opposition fighters during the civil war.

-NOTE: A frequently referenced political murder in Africa is that of Congo’s (now Democratic Republic of Congo) popular independence prime minister Patrice Lumumba in 1960. However, Lumumba had been dismissed as premier by President Joseph Kasa-Vubu in early September 1960, and while he disputed his dismissal, chief-of-staff Joseph-Désiré Mobutu seized power in a coup shortly after. Mobutu’s forces captured Lumumba on December 1, 1960. He was killed by firing squad on January 17, 1961.